1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical connectors and more particularly to hold-down devices for electrical connectors.
2. Brief Description of Prior Developments
One conventional method of positioning connectors and other electronic components on a printed circuit board (PCB) is by means of surface mount technology (SMT) through-mount or intrusive reflowed terminals. Intrusive reflow is the pre-location of carefully applied dosage amount of solder in the plated through hole such that after reflow (and not wave solder) operation a uniformly filled solder meniscus is formed with the terminal located in the hole. The connector may be picked up by a vacuum nozzle or similar transport means from a tape and then appropriately positioned and fixed on the PCB.
There is a need for such a device which is available on the (redundant) underside of a connector whether this connector is a receptacle or a plug connector. Unlike many other hold-down devices, the means to activate the hold-down mechanism in association with extraneous mechanical forces is avoided. This feature can be important in order to avoid rupture of delicate multi-layer boards, and thus cause undue stresses at the terminal solder connections.